The White House is getting ready to urge all Americans to get the latest COVID-19 vaccine booster as calls for a return to mask protocols gather momentum.
Pharmaceutical manufacturer Moderna claimed last week that its newest vaccine is effective against “Eris” and “Fornax,” the latest virus variants that are reportedly in circulation.
The updated vaccine is still pending approval from regulators in the United States and Europe, but the company said it expects agencies will sign off in time for the autumn vaccination season, per Reuters.
President Joe Biden had promised to make the vaccine drive an annual occurrence, and the Food and Drug Administration has been working to make that a reality by formally recommending annual vaccine updates, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
“If you’re fully vaccinated, get one more COVID shot. Once a year. That’s it,” Biden said back in January, per Breitbart.
Additionally, at least one expert who previously served on Biden’s COVID-19 advisory board has suggested the public might want to start wearing masks again.
“If you’re in a crowded indoor public space, you might want to in certain situations,” Dr. Céline Gounder said on CBS Mornings.
Calls for masking have reemerged in England, where there has reportedly been a twofold increase in cases in one month, according to the Mirror.
Dr. Trisha Greenhalgh, a primary healthcare expert at the University of Oxford, tweeted, “It looks like it’s once again time to MASK UP.”
She later clarified her position:
“Apparently I’m all over the newspapers for suggesting it may be time to think about wearing masks in high-risk settings given [the] spread of new variants. Just to clarify: I did NOT mean a full-on national mask mandate or your grandchildren forced to wear them in nursery schools.”
COVID-related deaths have seen a steep decline over the last couple of years.
In June, Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law a bill prohibiting local governments from mandating masks in Texas, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.